Furnace-charging apparatus.



PATENTEDJAN. 31, 1905. E. W. LINDQUIST. I FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H Z02; I I mivlmf PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

- No. 781,150. I

E. W. LINDQUIST.

FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.,

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 24, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I v "KM- No. 781,150. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

' E. LINDQUIST. 1 FURNACE GHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1903.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 'PATENTEDJAN. 31, 1905. E. W.'LINDQ'UIST. FURNACE GHYARGING APPARATUS;

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 24, 1903.-

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' and pack the charge in the furnace.

UNITED STATES Fatented January 31, 1905 EDWARD W. LINDQUIST, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RALPH BAGGALEY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FURNACE-CHARGING APPARATUS SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,150, dated January 31, 1905.

Application filed March 24, 1903. $erial No. 149,331.

T0 at whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. LIND UIsT, of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented a new and useful Furnace-Charging Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevation,'partly in vertical section. Fig. 3 is an elevation, on a larger scale, showing one of the beams and the automatic weighing mechanism. Fig. 4 is a sideelevationthereof,partlyinverticalsection.

In order to secure the best results in the operation of copper-smelting furnaces, it is necessary that-the charge should be supplied to the furnace slowly and evenly mixed or evenly stratified. 'Ioo rapid charging is apt to chill the furnace and cause it to work irregularly, and if large amounts are added at a time the shock of the falling material is severe and is apt to cause injury to the furnace structure Many attempts have been made to provide such furnaces with charging-machines; but so far as I am aware these machines have not given satisfactory results and the method ordinarily employed has continued to be the slow and expensive operation of feeding the charge by hand, a shovelful at a time. Such work is laborious and very. expensive, and as it depends upon the intelligence of the workmen it is often imperfect and produces irregular working of the furnace.

My invention overcomes these defects and provides a charging-machine which is simple in its construction and will operate reliably and with certainty, so thata more eflicient distribution of the charge is secured and the cost of labor is very materially reduced.

The invention is of especial importance when used with furnaces which smelt rapidly and require a large supply of ore and flux.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I show the apparatus arranged in connection with a series of bins 2 2, having gates 2, from which materials of the furnace charge is delivered upon a conveyer 3, composed, preferably, of an endless belt.

ing-hopper 4, supported upon the beams 5 of I weighing-scales 6, so that a measured quantity of material may be received in the hopper and thence discharged upon the conveyer 3, which runs beneath the spout of the hopper, each hopper for this purpose beingfitted'with a gate 7.

In practice the person in charge of the furnace, knowing the proportions-of ore, flux,and coke which are desired, sets the scales of each hopper so that it will balance at the weight proper for the particular material contained in the bin, and the workman having delivered such weight into the hopper opens the gate 7 and causes the material to discharge upon the conveyer. It is desirable that this weiglr ing of the charge should be automatic not only because labor can thus be saved, but also because the weighing operation can thus be con ducted secretly and the components of the charge not disclosed to others than the person concerned in the management of the furnace. For this purpose I prefer to inclose the beam of the scales in a box 8 and to provide it witha circuit-closer 9, controlling an electric circuit 10, in which is included a generator 11 and a magnet 12, preferably a solenoidmagnet, the armature of which is connected by a rod 13 to a lever 14, which in turn is connected to and is adapted to operate the gate 2 of the bin. The gate is opened by hand through the lever 14 and the material then flows from the bin into the hopper 4L, and when sufficient material has collected therein to balance the scales the circuit is closed at 9, the magnet 12 is energized, and acting on the lever 14 raises the gate 2 and automatically closes the same so as to cut off the discharge Ofmaterial from the bin. The operator then opens the gate 7 and causes the material to discharge upon the conveyer. It is desirable that the gate 2 should close by an upward movement, since in that way clogging of the gate by lumps of the material is prevented. If desired,theautomatic operation above described may be effected otherwise than by electrical means-for example, by a compressed-air cylinder or like devices.

The conveyer 3 discharges into a hopper 15 the orifice of which is preferably provided with a feeding device 16, which may be a corrugated roller, a feeding-disk, or other suitable appliance, and which being driven at the desired speed delivers the materials of the charge upon a conveyer 17, which likewise is preferably an endless belt and leads to a spout 18 over the apron 19 of the furnace 20. The apron 19 is the receiving opening of the furnace and is of considerably greater Width than the delivery end of the spout 18, so that the latter can be caused to travel back and forth along the same during the delivery of the charge in order to distribute the charge along the furnace. The conveyer 17 and the pulleys 21 over which it passes are mounted upon a frame 22, Which is supported on rollers 23, so as to be capable of being reciprocated lengthwise thereon by a pinion Q L, meshing With a rack 25, so that its front end carrying the spout 18 can be moved back and forth along the charging-apron 19.

The operation of the device is as follows: The material to be fed to the furnace is delivered upon the conveyer 3 from the weighinghoppers in determined amounts and is discharged into the hopper 15, from which the feed-roll 16 delivers it at the desired rate upon the conveyor 17. This conveyor carries the charge toward the furnace and discharges it onto the apron 19, whence it passes into the furnace, and as the conveyerframe travels back and forth at a regular speed it distributes the charge evenly from end to end of the furnace in a manner calculated to produce the most satisfactory results in the smelting operation. The whole device can be operated by one man, Who by regulating the passage of the charge upon the conveyer 17 can control perfectly the rate at Which the furnace is charged.

Within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims the apparatus may be modified in various Ways, since What I claim is 1. The combination of a furnace having a charge-reeeiving opening, a conveyor discharging into said opening, and means for reciprocating the conveyer along the opening during the delivery of the charge, said opening being of greater width than the delivery end of theconveyer; substantially as dcscril )(Xl.

2. The combination of a furnace having a charge-receiving opening, a conveyor discharging into said opening, means for delivering the charge at a regulated rate to the conveyer, and means for reciprocating the conveyer along the opening during the delivery of the charge, said opening being of greater width than the delivery end of the conveyor; substantially as described.

3. Fumace-charging apparatus comprising a conveyor discharging into the opening of a furnace, means for reciprocating said con veyer along said opening, and a supplementary eonveyer arranged to receive the ingredients of the charge and to deliver it to the recipr(')cating conveyor; substantially as described.

4. The combination with a furnace having a charging-opening, of a traveling carriage adapted to move along said opcningin either direction, a conveyer mounted on said carriage, and means for actuating the conveyor for any position of the carriage along said opening, whereby the quantity and disposition of the charge is controlled at will, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a furnace having a charging-opening, of a carriage adapted to travel along said opening, and a conveyor mounted in said carriage and adapted to discharge and distribute the i'naterial into the furnace for any position of the carriage and at any desirable speed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ED\VARD \Vitnesses:

RALrn BAooALnr, Gno. B. BLEMING.

\V. LIN DQUIST. 

